Florala

Issue date: 10/18/07 Section: Sports

Tonight's contest against the Statesmen of Delta State is without a doubt the biggest game of the year so far for the Lion football team.

After beating Arkansas-Monticello 46-27 last Saturday, the Lions have had a short week to prepare for the No. 5 Statesmen. Delta State's confidence is sky high after defeating then No. 5 Valdosta State on the road a week ago. Delta State came back from 28 points down to defeat the Blazers 35-31.

UNA enters the game tonight as the No. 2 team in the country, while the Statesman are ranked No. 5 but hold the top spot in the Southeast Region.

Tonight's match-up is scheduled as a non-conference match therefore the game will have no pull in the Gulf South Conferenc standings. While the game on the schedule is denoted as non-conference, the game will have major influence on who is the top team in the region.

Last year, UNA and Delta State faced off twice. The Lions defeated the Statesmen in Cleveland, Miss. 17-10 in a regular season battle. The playoff quarterfinal at Braly Stadium did not turn out as well for the Lions as Delta State was victorious 27-10.

Last Saturday, the Lions easily defeated Arkansas-Monticello as most of the starters rested the second-half. The Lions' offense marched all over the Boll Weevils defense as the Lions scored 37 points in the first half.

The Lion offense finished the night with 245 yards on the ground and an additional 203 through the air. The offense scored on five of eight attempts in the red zone. Brandenn Picket led the rushing attack with 87 yards on only 13 carries and David McCants added 69 yards on 9 carries. A.J. Milwee seemed to have been resting his arm for the Delta State game as he only passed the ball 14 times with eight completions, but still came away with 111 yards and three touchdowns.

Tonight's game is set to kickoff at 7 p.m. The game will be televised by CSS-TV, local Comcast channel 18.

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